Lady Cougars Sweep Piggott, Notch Win over Indians

Marla Crancer fires a three-pointer before the Marked Tree defender can get in position

The Rector Lady Cougars and Piggott Lady Mohawks renewed their rivalry in the past week, with the RHS girls coming out on top. The Cougars also posted a big win over Marked Tree in conference play.

Piggott Games

Another chapter began in the ongoing rivalry between neighboring schools Rector and Piggott this past Tuesday night, as the Lady Cougars held off the Lady Mohawks for a 24-19 victory in senior girls' basketball in Rector. Senior Harmony Brown hit three of four free throws in the key fourth quarter and classmate Marla Crancer added two critical shots from the stripe as RHS hung on for the win.

RHS led at each of the quarter breaks: 6-3; 8-7 and 17-12.

Brown led all scorers with 11 points on the night. Also scoring for the Lady Cougars were Crancer 9, Tori Hill 2 and Matison Dean 2.

Reagan Ralph led the Junior Lady Mohawks with five points on the night. Also scoring for Piggott were Emilee Seegraves 4 and Emily Massey 2.

The teams battled back-and-forth early, ending the first quarter tied at 4-4 and the first half tied 5-5. Rector moved ahead 17-7 heading into the fourth frame.

Marked Tree

The Lady Cougars survived a late surge by the visiting Marked Tree Lady Indians to hold on for a 40-39 victory Thursday night in Rector.

RHS began the second half with a 13-point lead, 26-13, but the advantage shrunk to six points, 32-28, by the start of the fourth frame. Marked Tree tied the game at 35-35 with 2:53 remaining in the final period as Lexi Perry made one of two free throws. Tori Hill buried a three-pointer to push Rector out in front for good, 38-35, with 2:33 remaining. The visitors closed to within a point, 38-37, on a pair of free throws by Tullia Tull with 1:53 left to play. Matison Dean drove inside, dishing the ball off to Harmony Brown for a bucket inside with 1:35 to push Rector ahead by three, 40-37. Tull found an opening by cutting backdoor, leading to an easy basket inside for the Lady Indians with 1:11 remaining, setting the final tally in place. The Lady Cougars played stall-ball for the bulk of the remainder, drawing two fouls in the waning seconds. An errant Rector pass gave the ball to Marked Tree with 0.7 seconds left to play, but Rector's Marla Crancer intercepted the long pass, bringing the contest to an end.

The win made the Lady Cougars 1-0 in 2A-3 conference play and 3-2 overall.

"That's a good win," RHS coach Matt Dean said following the game. "Marked Tree is always tough. Their big girl inside, Perry, is always a threat and makes you change things up. I thought we played her about as well as we could, and Harmony and Marla deserve a lot of credit for how they stayed with her on defense. I felt like we did a pretty good job of staying with them when they made their run. We did a good job of making plays when we had to have them. It's always nice to start off with a win in the conference."

Hill led all scorers with 14 points on the night. Brown notched 11 points in the win. Matison Dean, nine points, and Crancer, six, rounded out the Lady Cougar scoring.

Bree Marshall led Marked Tree with 12 points in the loss. Perry and Tull finished with 11 points each.

The Lady Cougars are set to face the Lady Bulldogs of Earle beginning at 4 p.m. Tuesday in an evening of games which will also feature both boys' teams. The girls will return to action beginning at 6 p.m. Dec. 1 in Rector when they play host to Riverside following the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Junior Lady Cougars fell to Marked Tree, 34-22. The visitors led after each quarter break: 5-3; 16-8 and 22-11.